Matriculating 2015
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Alysia R. Bryll
Hometown: Springfield, MA
Undergraduate College: Mount Holyoke College, 2013
Thesis Research Lab: Dr. Craig Peterson
Clinical Interests: Pathology -
Erica R. Kwiatkowski
Hometown: Weston, MA
Undergraduate College: Grinnell College, 2015
Thesis Research Lab: Dr. Patrick Emery
Clinical Interests: Neurology
Hobbies: Hiking, quilting, cats
Erica.Kwiatkowski@umassmed.edu -
Nicholas D. Peterson
Nicholas Peterson is a graduate of St. John’s University (Minnesota), with a BA in Biochemistry. Prior to joining the UMASS MD/PhD program, Nicholas conducted research in the laboratory of Dr. Tony Baughn at the University of Minnesota. During his time in the Baughn laboratory, Nicholas performed mycobacteriology research. Specifically, he characterized the resistance mechanisms of the first line M. tuberculosis drug pyrazinamide.
Nicholas has a strong interest in host-pathogen interactions and innate immune activation. Currently, he is in his third year of graduate research in Dr. Read Pukkila-Worley’s laboratory. In the Pukkila-Worley laboratory, Nicholas is using the model organism, C. elegans, to investigate evolutionarily conserved aspects of intestinal immunity. In particular, Nicholas is characterizing a new mechanism of pathogen sensing by nuclear hormone receptors in C. elegans intestinal epithelial cells. Long-term, Nicholas’s goal is to become an infectious disease physician-scientist and lead a basic science laboratory that focuses on elucidating the mechanisms of host-pathogen interactions and innate immune activation.
